Generation of blue light at 426 nm by frequency doubling with a monolithic periodically poled KTiOPO_4

Continuous-wave (cw) blue laser generation at 426 nm by frequency doubling with a monolithic periodically poled KTP (PPKTP) cavity is reported in this paper. Without any free mirrors, the standing-wave cavity solely consists of a monolithic PPKTP crystal, and both ends of which are spherically polished and mirror-coated. An output power of 158 mW is obtained when the pump power is 350 mW. The conversion efficiency is 45%. The dependence of the conversion efficiency on the temperature and the incident fundamental power has been discussed. Such a system is integrally stable and compact for long-time operation under temperature control. The system is much more stable than the usual servo lock system for external cavity doubling.